Monthly Archives: March 2017

IFLScience posted an article about how the cerebellum may be more responsible than previously thought- which up until now was just (I use the term “just” loosely) motor control, coordination, and precision.

I had a conversation with a white belt recently which brought this issue up: he was rolling with a partner who (I’m presuming/hoping) accidentally kicked the white belt.

Said white belt was understandably pissed. Admittedly I also get a little annoyed when I’m kicked, punched or when I am somehow on the receiving end of a knee to the face. Jiu jitsu is about no striking: if I wanted to get punched I would do Muay Thai kickboxing or capoeira, or something of that nature.

The white belt in question was asking if that kick was “legal” in tournament. I had to explain to our heated white belt that I’m sure it was an accident, and that it was probably an aggressive sweep that got kind of weird. I also had to explain the common, unspoken rule of “don’t be rude”.

Jiu jitsu practitioners have to walk a fine line between technique and really digging deep sometimes to pull off a submission. You want to be technical, you want to quickly and efficiently put your opponent in a position that they will feel the need to tap- whether that be a choke, joint lock…. the list goes on and on. But, the difficulty comes when you add the element that the other person wants the exact same thing, and of course people aren’t perfect- we all try to grind out a technique that may not be the easiest or prettiest one to use at that time.

Still, we try- there’s the idea that we want to submit our opponent without unnecessary pain or roughness. Again, back to the idea of “don’t be rude”. It can be a weird gray area at times, and one that is definitely subject to interpretation, but it’s something we should all keep in mind and- I dunno, personally I give people the benefit of the doubt more often than not because I assume they know about this rule.

I’ve received questions like this before, and my coach brought it up in class recently. In jiu jitsu thre is *almost* an answer to everything, but there is such a thing as a “point of no return”. I’ll get questions about how to get out of a position where the person literally has nothing, their partner is holding all the cards, and then they ask what they should do in that situation.

There does come a point where you have let things get to such a point where- sorry friend- you’re just not getting out of that submission. The tap, really, is your way of getting out. Not the answer you want I know, but sometimes the truth hurts. You’ve done a lot of wrong things to get to that point, and that’s the un-fun conclusion.

The good news however is the fact that you have to let things get so far before you get to that point of no return. Stop the progression before that final lockdown of a submission and you still have a chance of getting out. Easier said than done, I fully realize this, but it should give you at least a little bit of hope. Keep working to stay out of that point of no return, and you still have the fighting chance.